1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage trucks of the straight truck and trailer truck types that are used to transport cases of beverages. In particular, the invention is directed to such trucks in which a heating and/or cooling system is provided in a front bulkhead wall of the truck body and an air distribution system is provided within the truck body for directing a flow of heated/cooled air throughout the interior of the body to insure that beverages stored within all of areas of the truck body are maintained at a suitable temperature.
2. Description of Related Art
A problem faced by the beverage distribution industry is that the trucks used to deliver cases of beverages are loaded at the distribution center, e.g., a warehouse, at the end of the day after the trucks have returned from making the day""s deliveries, so that the fully-loaded trucks are ready to commenced deliveries first thing the following day. This means that the beverages sit in the trucks overnight. Without climate control measures being taken within the truck body, in cold climates where temperatures can fall well below freezing in winter, unless adequate heat is delivered throughout the interior of the truck body, the beverages in the trucks can freeze overnight, rupturing their containers or being damaged by the freezing effects themselves. Similarly, in hot climates where temperatures can remain quite hot even at night, without cooling air being circulated through the truck body, heat-sensitive beverages can spoil due to the effect of heat building up in the truck body during the during daylight hours and not dissipating significantly overnight.
To address this problem, for example, a fuel-fired heater is mounted in the front bulkhead wall of the truck body. However, beverage trucks are not standard production line vehicles of vehicle manufacturers, a trailer manufacturer making the truck body and having to adapt a heater manufacturer""s product to a vehicle for which the heater was not specifically designed, e.g., the heater is not matched to any duct system that may have been constructed by the trailer manufacturer. Further complicating distribution of heated air is the fact that the interior of a beverage truck body is partitioned, into a number of bays within which the beverage cases are stacked, by a longitudinal partition running down the center of the interior of the truck body and a plurality of laterally running transverse partitions.
In one known arrangement produced by the company Safetec (Hunter), Model ST37-20, a heater is mounted centrally near the top of the front wall of the truck body and delivers heated air into the interior of the truck body at a height above the longitudinally and laterally running partitions. Fans are mounted above each of the even numbered laterally running partitions (i.e., second, fourth . . . ) and distributes the heated air downward into a respective pair of bays. To enable cold air to be drawn back to the heater, four stack openings are provided near a bottom corner of the laterally running partitions near the longitudinally running partition. However, this arrangement possess the disadvantage that due to heated/supply air not reaching the floor area near the outer wall bay doors, and the holes and routing not being sized to accommodate the system""s air volume, uneven and inefficient heating results.
In another know approach, used, e.g., by Hackney and Sons, Mickey Truck Bodies and Hesse, a main duct receives heated/supply air from the heater outlet and ducts it the length of the trailer or straight truck above the center partition. Branches lead from the main duct through the individual bay walls down to just above floor level where the heated/supply air is delivered into the bays by vents located about a meter (3.1 feet) into the bays from the bay doors. Air return is through holes in an upper portion of the center partition, along the interior of the center partition and into the front bulkhead. Here again, the return air routing is not sized to accommodate the system""s air volume, and uneven and inefficient heating results.
Other approaches that have been tried included directing the heated/supply air through the center partition (using the center partition as a duct) and out into the bays through holes formed in the partition walls at each bay, or circulating heated coolant in the floor with no interior thermostat, i.e., with a 100% heater duty cycle. The partition walls being made of aluminum, the first of these two approaches is limited to a short span of air routing since the aluminum construction quickly absorbs the heat, while floors that have heated coolant circulated in them are susceptible to coolant leaks and the coolant adds weight which reduces the product load that can be transported by the truck.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to enable a beverage truck to be effectively climate controlled.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to develop a heating/cooling system that can be effectively integrated into a trailer or straight truck body, even as an after-market/field installation, which provides a uniform temperature distribution throughout the truck.
In connection with the foregoing, it is a further object of the invention to provide the necessary air flow within the complete trailer or straight truck to maintain the proper temperature environment throughout the entire beverage storage areas without ducting of the supply air flow.
The above and other objects of the invention are obtained by integrating a heat exchanger mounted in the front wall of the trailer or straight truck with an air distribution system which delivers heated/supply air to each bay floor by the door in an unducted manner and return flow routing from the floor area near the bay doors through the partitioning back to and through the front bulkhead to the heat exchanger with the return air holes being correctly sized with respect to truck size and insulation properties/irregularities.
By using an unducted air supply, the necessary air flow can be circulated completely within all of the beverage storage areas without substantial heat loss. Furthermore, costs are reduced since no main ducting is required and existing body construction is used channeling return air flow construction. This, in turn, enables retrofit installation into the truck body to be facilitated.